The admission infuriated Ewan afresh. “I think ye’re lyin’,” he told her accusingly.
“I’m tellin’ ye the truth!” she cried, wriggling again.
“Stop doin’ that!”
She stopped. Ewan thought for a moment as he looked down into her eyes. Possibly the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, they shone in the candlelight, betraying the fact she was holding back tears. Despite his anger, he felt another twinge of guilt for subjecting her to such treatment. But he was determined to find out who she was. He had to.
For this was not the first attempt on his life. But only he and Colin and a few men sworn to secrecy knew about what had happened a year earlier, when an assassin sent by Laird Calumn Allan had gotten into the castle at night, intent on killing him. Caught dozing in his bed, Ewan had nevertheless managed to fight the man off and question him before he killed him. However, he had sustained some nasty knife wounds before the intruder had finally given up.
That was when his sister Deidra had run into his room, and he had been able to do nothing to help her when the intruder had grabbed her as he had run out, kidnapping her. He could still hear her muffled screams as she was forced out of the castle at knife point, only to vanish.
Without even waiting for the healer to tend to his wounds, he had begun formulating a plan to rescue her. At dawn thefollowing morning, he and Colin had ridden out with fifty handpicked men, heading to Allan’s stronghold, three day’s ride distant. Once there, they had staged a daring rescue and freed a terrified Deidra from a stinking cell in the dungeons. Every day, he thanked God for letting him bring her home safely.
However, just before the rescue, he had seen Galbraith and a party of his men ride out of Allan’s castle, which had convinced him that Galbraith was complicit in Deidra’s kidnap.
Revenge was part of the reason he was here now to attack Galbraith, Allan’s ally in the war that power-hungry maniac had manipulated them all into. But he also wanted his lands back, and Galbraith was his route to getting close to Allan and defeating him once and for all. He looked forward to having the pleasure of killing both of them.
All this ran through his mind as he stared down at his captive. Was she another of Allan’s assassins, sent to murder him and take over his clan?
What shall I dae with her? I’ll keep her close, watch her.
“I’m gonnae let ye up, and I promise I’ll nae hurt ye… as long as ye dinnae try tae run. Ye’re tae stay with me, so I can keep an eye on ye. D’ye understand?”
“Aye, I-I understand, I s-swear I’ll nae tae try tae run,” she replied, nodding.
“All right.” Slowly, he lifted himself away for her and stood up. Automatically, he reached out to help her up. She put her small hand in his and climbed to her feet. She was wobbly at first and held onto him until she had steadied herself.
“Thank ye,” she said politely as she adjusted her clothing. While Ewan picked up the dropped knife and tucked it in is belt, he watched her closely, wondering why anyone would pay this slightly built, well-spoken young woman to kill him. The unlikelihood of it left him convinced she was lying to him. But at the same time, she had tried to murder him. Clearly, she had been prepared to commit cold-blooded murder. The whole thing was as intriguing as it was alarming and he had to get to the bottom of it.
“Right, this is what’s gonnae happen,” he commanded her sternly. “I’ll keep ye safe, as long as ye obey me without question. From this moment forward, ye can give up any idea of bein’ free. Ye’re mine now, and ye’ll remain here in the camp fer as long as this war lasts. Ye’re nae tae leave me sight, and ye’ll sleep here in this tent every night with me, so I can keep an eye on ye. All right?”
She looked shocked. “That’s nae necessary,” she protested. “I already promised nae tae run.”
“I dinnae trust ye, so ’tis necessary tae me. And in case ye have any ideas of disobeying me orders and sneakin’ off tae tell everything tae the one who’s payin’ ye, just remember, if any of me men find out ye’re woman and a spy, I’ll be forced tae execute ye. Or worse.”
He saw her swallow hard before she nodded and said, “A-alright.”
“Aye. And ye willnae mind if I tie yer hands and feet. That way, I can sleep easy, kennin’ ye cannae try tae stab me again.”
“Ye have me dirk,” she pointed out.
“Thanks fer remindin’ me. Now, put yer arms above yer head,” he instructed.
“What? What fer?”
“So I can check fer any concealed weapons.”
“But I havenae?—”
“Dae it.”
She sighed and raised her arms. He noticed how she trembled, and her cheeks reddened as he patted her down from head to toe, running his palms over her inner thighs, her behind, and over her chest. He found nothing, only a slight yet shapely body beneath her disguise. “Take off yer boots and stockings.”
“What?”
“Yer boots and stockings. Take them off. Ye could have a blade hidden in there.”
She shook her head disbelievingly but did as he instructed. As he examined her footwear, feet, and ankles, he noticed how clean her feet were for a village lass. Along with her cultured accent, it seemed yet another reason to be suspicious of her.
